Laser Process Monitoring and Closed Loop Control Patents
One filer holds 95 of 258 records and the top five combined account for 75.6% of all records in scope — this field is concentrated, not fragmented. Annual filings ran from 17 in 2017 up to a peak of 40 in 2018. The 2021-to-2024 window, the last span with reasonably complete publication data, shows filings falling from 31 to 21 — a 32% decline. Counts for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so treat the most recent bars as a floor, not a ceiling.
- 1IPG PHOTONICS CORP95
- 2IPG PHOTONICS CANADA INC36
- 3GENERAL ELECTRIC CO36
- 4MOOG INC20
- 5UNIVERSITE DU MAINE8
See the full laser process monitoring and closed loop control analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this landscape
Who are the leading patent holders in laser process monitoring and closed loop control?
The ranking covers 38 companies across 258 records, with one assignee alone holding 95 records — more than a third of the entire dataset. The top five assignees combined account for 75.6% of all records, and the top ten reach 87.2%, so the field is dominated by a small leadership tier rather than spread evenly. Beyond the leaders, filing counts drop steeply, with the tenth-ranked assignee holding only 5 records.
Is patent filing in this space growing or shrinking?
Filings peaked in 2018 at 40 per year and had fallen to 21 by 2024, a 32% decline from the 2021 count of 31. However, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 figures in any chart are still incomplete and should not be read as evidence of a further slowdown. The honest read is that the field cooled somewhat after 2018 but the most recent trend line is simply unfinished.
What technology areas dominate laser process monitoring patents?
Welding-related claims under IPC class B23K appear on 59.7% of the 258 records, making it the single largest category. Additive manufacturing (B33Y), powder metallurgy (B22F) and plastics shaping (B29C) each appear on roughly 35-38% of records, reflecting how the same optical sensing techniques get claimed across multiple manufacturing processes. Because a single patent can carry several IPC classes, these percentages add up to more than 100% and should not be treated as mutually exclusive shares.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Laser Process Monitoring and Closed Loop Control covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.